More than three decades after the original film became a hit, 2018’s The Predator brings the franchise back to the big screen for the first time since 2010’s Predators. At the film’s start, a Predator ship crash-lands on the Earth, and a team led by Army sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) neutralizes it.

McKenna sends home some of the Predator’s equipment, and his young son Rory (Jacob Tremblay) discovers this material. When Rory plays with the items, he inadvertently triggers an alert to other Predators. They follow the signal and set off a massive battle.

For the first time in the franchise’s history, The Predator marked a Predator film I failed to see theatrically. Initially I assumed I’d see it, as I count myself as a moderate fan of the franchise.

However, poor reviews kept me away. While I don’t love the Predator films, I always hope they’ll offer great excitement, and the prospect of yet another lackluster project after the mediocre Predators meant I couldn’t muster the energy to see it on the big screen.

With a screening of The Predator now under my belt, I don’t regret that decision. This might not be the worst of the franchise, but it doesn’t offer much entertainment.

Co-writer/director Shane Black made his name as the writer of 1987’s seminal Lethal Weapon, and that film offers the template for his subsequent work. Black's movies tend to blend violence and glib comedy in nearly equal measures, a style that works fine – sometimes.

I liked the attitude Black brought to 2013’s Iron Man 3, as Black’s attitude meshed well with the title character and Robert Downey Jr.’s performance. Unfortunately, Black couldn’t make his stab at a neo noir work, so 2016’s The Nice Guys only occasionally prospered.

At its core, this series seems like a good match for Black’s talents, but his choices simply don’t work for The Predator. Black relies too much on cheap jokes and gore to sell the material, and these decisions never succeed.

Really, The Predator seems like a director and a franchise on cruise control. Sure, Black introduces some innovations, mainly through new kinds of Predators, but even those don’t do much to thrill.

Actually, these roles feel borrowed from the Alien franchise. The “Big Predator” seems like a riff on the Alien Queen, and we saw an animal/alien hybrid in 1992’s Alien3.

Because of this, the new Predators feel desperate and recycled more than original and creative. Black can’t find interesting ways to use the characters, so the film tends to spin its wheels.

The same goes for the humans, as our “rag tag” band of soldiers comes with little more than the usual military clichés. The Predator brings a decent cast, but they can’t do much with their one-dimensional parts.

I also find it tacky at best that The Predator relies on two characters who have Autism and Tourette Syndrome, respectively. The movie uses these disorders in a way that feels cheap and gimmicky, and I don’t appreciate the manner in which it basically takes complex mental situations and turns them into convenient/stereotypical story points.

Despite all this, The Predator occasionally musters an exciting battle here and there. These don’t feel like nearly enough to sustain the viewer through the rest of it, though, so expect a subpar action flick.

The Predator appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The movie offered a solid presentation.

Sharpness worked fine, as the film seemed accurate and well-defined. Only a smidgen of softness entered into the occasional wide shot. I saw no signs of jaggies or moiré effects, and the film lacked edge haloes or print flaws.

If you suspected The Predator would come with the modern standard teal and orange palette, you’ll get what you expected, and these became heavy tints. I’d like to see action flicks dispense with those conceits, but given their restraints, they looked fine here. The 4K UHD’s HDR capabilities gave the hues nice oomph and dimensionality.

Blacks came across nicely, as dark tones were deep and rich, without any muddiness or problems. In addition, low-light shots gave us smooth, clear visuals. All in all, this became a terrific transfer.

I also felt happy with the solid Dolby Atmos soundtrack of The Predator. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix offered plenty of opportunities for lively auditory information, and it took good advantage of these.

From the opening combat scene to road chases to gunfire to explosions to other action elements, the mix filled the speakers on a frequent basis. The track placed information in logical spots and blended all the channels in a smooth, compelling manner.

Audio quality was also positive. Music sounded lively and full, while effects delivered accurate material. Those elements showed nice clarity and kick, with tight low-end.

Speech was always distinctive and concise, too. This mix worked well for the film.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? The Atmos audio seemed a little more involving than the BD’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 track, whereas visuals were tighter and offered superior colors. While the BD looked/sounded good, the 4K UHD improved upon it.

No extras appear on the 4K UHD itself, but the included Blu-ray copy boasts some materials, and we find four featurettes. These launch with A Touch of Black, a 10-minute, 28-second piece that includes comments from co-writer/director Shane Black, producer John Davis, co-writer Fred Dekker and actors Keegan-Michael Key, Augusto Aguilera, Sterling K. Brown, Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes and Olivia Munn.

“Touch” looks at Black’s history with the Predator franchise as well as his take on this project. A few decent nuggets emerge but much of the show just praises Black.

With Predator Evolution, we find a 20-minute, 11-second show that features Munn, Holbrook, Black, Aguilera, Brown, Key, Dekker, production designer Martin Whist, unit production manager Bill Bannerman, puppeteers/creature effects designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr., stunt coordinator Marny Eng, property master David Dowling, costume designer Tish Monaghan, supervising art director Michael Diner, set decorator Hamish Purdy, construction coordinator Jesse Joslin, and actors Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane, Brian Alexander Prince, and Jake Busey.

“Evolution” looks at the design of the Predator and related creatures as well as other ways the film brings the Predator to life. Though a little too much self-congratulation results, we still learn a lot about the subject matter, so this becomes the disc’s best featurette.

The Takedown Team fills 16 minutes, 14 seconds with info from Black, Holbrook, Key, Brown, Davis, Dekker, Munn, Rhodes, Aguilera, and Jane.

“Team” covers cast, characters and performances. Like “Touch”, this one mixes good material with praise.

Finally, Predator Catch-Up lasts nine minutes, seven seconds and shows clips from the first three Predator movies. It becomes a decent montage/summary.

Four Deleted Scenes span a total of six minutes, 55 seconds. We see “Traeger Meets McKenna” (1:39), “Lynch Goes Shopping” (1:47), “Surveying the House” (2:05) and “Nettles’ Outtakes” (1:24).

“Meets” brings some exposition, while the others offer comedic beats. “Meets” acts as the most useful of the bunch, but even it doesn’t seem like a meaningful omission.

A Gallery provides 21 images. It mixes shots of props and concept art. It delivers a good compilation, though it’s awfully skimpy and should’ve included more material.

The disc opens with ads for Deadpool 2, Predator and Alien: Covenant. We also find three trailers for The Predator.

A glib, gory attempt to revive the franchise, The Predator lacks excitement. The film tries to skate by via its own sarcasm and violence, but these trends just expose its own hollow core. The 4K UHD brings excellent picture and audio along with a decent set of supplements. Maybe someday the franchise will return to glory, but The Predator fails.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of THE PREDATOR